One side-effect of Rep. John Lewis's heated and very public spat with President-elect Donald Trump: ballooning interest in books written by the civil rights icon.
The Georgia Democrat's “Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement” was sold out on Amazon and was the site's No. 3 bestseller Saturday afternoon. Used copies of the hardcover edition were going for nearly $100.
Claiming the top spot on the list was another book by Lewis: “March,” a graphic-novel trilogy about the civil rights movement. The third installment won the National Book Award last year.
[As Trump attacks John Lewis, here’s how freedom riders broke the chains of segregation]
Amazon listed both books as “temporarily out of stock” on Sunday. Sales for both had ballooned more than 100,000 percent, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. (Disclosure: Jeffrey P. Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon, is also the owner of the The Washington Post.)
In all, five of Lewis's books were among the top 20 best sellers on Amazon, including several versions of the "March" trilogy. The hardcover edition of Lewis's "Across That Bridge: Life Lessons and a Vision for Change" was also sold out, though an electronic version was available.
On Friday, Lewis said he didn't see Trump as a legitimate president and wouldn't be attending the inauguration for the first time in 30 years.
[Hillary Clinton made a rare appearance at ‘The Color Purple’ — and got three standing ovations]
Key to his decision, Lewis said, was Russia's alleged hacking of the presidential election, which the congressman argues helped Trump defeat Hillary Clinton.
Trump struck back on Twitter, saying Lewis needed to focus on his congressional district, “which is in horrible shape and falling apart (not to mention crime infested) rather than falsely complaining about the election results.”
Trump said Lewis is “All talk, talk, talk — no action or results.”
Congressman John Lewis should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart (not to......
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2017
mention crime infested) rather than falsely complaining about the election results. All talk, talk, talk - no action or results. Sad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2017
Congressman John Lewis should finally focus on the burning and crime infested inner-cities of the U.S. I can use all the help I can get!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 15, 2017
Lewis was one of 600 marchers beaten by law enforcement officials on the march from Selma to the state's capitol, The Post's Krissah Thompson reported. Lewis's head was bloodied by a lawman's club.
The growing feud, just before Martin Luther King Day, widened a rift that's existed between Trump and the Congressional Black Caucus since the Republican questioned whether Obama was born in the United States and could legitimately be elected president. Obama produced a birth certificate in 2012.
On NBC'S “Meet the Press” Sunday, Lewis said he would not invite Trump to visit Selma, Ala., with him. Lewis has invited various politicians to the site of historic marches for voting rights, including Vice President-elect Mike Pence.
We stand with @repjohnlewis. pic.twitter.com/M4MUQi7HtF
— House Democrats (@HouseDemocrats) January 14, 2017
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